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Inspired by meeting my would-be wife (of 30+ years) at a club in Norman, OK and daring to put a Hollywood kiss on her during our first dance. That action was inspired by a late night conversation I had with Richard Boone at the Outrigger Hotel restaurant in the center of 1968 Waikiki. Mind you, he did not look like the Richard Boone you might remember. He look 'scraggly'. His hair was long and he was sporting several days growth of whiskers. He wearing some round metal frame glasses, denim shorts, sandals and a Whaling Spree t-shirt. He fit right in with the rest of us beach bums, young and old. We had seen each other late at night in the restaurant before. It was a good place to watch the wee hours tourists straggle to their rooms and get a good cup of coffee. You see, I was suffering emotionally from a case of 'no nerve'. I wanted to ask a particular girl out, but she seemed so unapproachable. She was an Alfred Shaheen Fashions model and was admired by many each weekday late evening as she left work. She never acknowledged catcalls or comments. She was stunning. After I explained by lack of nerve to Mr. Boone (I didn't know his name at the time, just his face), he offered this sage advice: "If you don't pull the trigger, you can't kill the bear.....and sometimes that bear will eat you." Now, the first part was easy enough to understand. One must take chances, necessary chances, to accomplish anything. Okay. The second half was not so obvious, so I asked. He said, "You'll look back and feel the frustration, know you lacked the wherewithal to change your destiny. It will mess with your karma....eat at you now and then, rob you of a little peace of mind." So, one night as she left work, I fell in beside her and showing her two tickets to a Rolling Stones concert at the Waikiki Shell, I said, "If you'll go to this concert with me, I get you a 6 foot licorice whip and the island's tallest ice cream cone." She laughed and said she loved licorice and ice cream. Who would have thought? The girl and I lived together for almost 2 years (that was the thing to do in the late 60s). When I came back from Vietnam, I lacked personal definition and direction and, in her behalf, terminated that relationship. I surely would have dragged her down. Good thing I was a man of conscience. She finished her doctorate, taught, married and has had a very happy life with kids and grandkids and great grandkids......and one husband.
I've never forgotten that lesson and, while sometimes I failed to make the effort or my efforts were not successful, I feel that I do have a fair amount of peace of mind....valuable stuff. . A slightly different version, in concert with an appealing photo, has been used as a shelter dog adoption poster.
A simple kiss will tell if you might love me.
A simple kiss will tell how much I care.
Yes, just one kiss will reveal
Exactly how I feel;
So, let me kiss you…if you dare.
A simple kiss…it’s so very easy,
A simple kiss that only two can share;
But that kiss may be a chance
For both our lives to be enhanced;
So, let me…let me kiss you… if you dare.